Enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large substrates

ABSTRACT

An enclosed vertical rack is provided for storing and transporting large substrates. The enclosed vertical rack comprises a movable base, an enclosure on the movable base for accommodating substrates, an alignment facility in the enclosure for receiving substrates, and a sealable door for enclose the enclosure. The enclosure has a gas inlet, and the enclosure or the door has a gas outlet.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an enclosure for storing and transporting large substrates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A large substrate having a previously-deposited transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer is often used to manufacture photovoltaic devices. In other words, the TCO layer is deposited in a production line or a fabrication facility that may be off-site or remote from the production line of the photovoltaic devices. Since the TCO layer may be further oxidized or contaminated before the substrate is transferred to the production line of the photovoltaic devices, a pre-clean step is needed to clean the surface of the TCO layer. However, the pre-clean step requires tooling and processing time and thus increases the total fabrication cost of the photovoltaic devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, an enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large substrates is provided.

The enclosed vertical rack comprises a movable base, an enclosure on the movable base for accommodating substrates, an alignment facility in the enclosure for receiving substrates, and a sealable door for enclose the enclosure. The enclosure has a gas inlet, and the enclosure or the door has a gas outlet. Therefore, the air inside the enclosure can be replaced by an inert gas to protect the substrate from being further oxidized and contaminated. Moreover, the movable base of the vertical rack can transport the substrates inside between different production lines.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a front-view diagram of a vertical rack according to an embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a front-view diagram of an alignment facility in the vertical rack according to another embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a side-view diagram of a vertical rack according to another embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a front-view diagram of a vertical rack according to yet another embodiment of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to an enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large substrates in a vertical orientation. The term “a large substrate” used in this disclosure is a substrate having a plane surface area greater than about 60 cm×72 cm, and up to and exceeding 2.2 m×2.2 m.

FIG. 1 is a front-view diagram of a vertical rack according to an embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 1, the vertical rack 100 a includes a movable base 102, an enclosure 200 on the movable base 102, an alignment facility 300 in the enclosure 200, and a sealable door 400 in front of the enclosure 200. The door 400 is shown cut-away to reveal the interior of the enclosure 200.

The movable base 102 has a moving facility 104 for moving the vertical rack 100 a between different production lines. The moving facility 104 can be forklift slots, castors, rail wheels, or hoisting hooks, for example. Hence, the vertical rack 100 a can be moved by human guided or automatically guided techniques.

The enclosure 200 on the movable base 102 is used to accommodate a plurality of large substrate 500 (abbreviated as substrate 500 below) disposed in a substantially vertical orientation. The number of the accommodated substrate of the enclosure can be up to 50. If the substrates 500 are glass substrates, the weight of 50 substrates 500 can be up to 5,000 pounds. Therefore, the enclosure 200 is made from a structurally rigid material, such as metal or glass-fibers reinforced plastic.

The enclosure 200 is fitted with a gas inlet 202 for charging the space surrounded by the enclosure 200 and the door 300 with an inert gas, such as nitrogen or argon. Alternatively, a low moisture content gas, such as clean dry air, may be utilized. The enclosure 200 also fitted with a gas outlet 204 that can vent the air originally in the space surrounded by the enclosure 200 and the door 300. The gas inlet 202 includes a valve which prevents inadvertent leakage from the gas inlet 202. Hence, the gas inlet 202 can include a shut-off valve or be integrated in a sealing quick-disconnect, for example. When the gas inlet is integrated in a sealing quick-disconnect, the gas inlet 202 is opened when a gas conduit is connected to the gas inlet 202, and the gas inlet 202 is closed when a gas conduit is disconnected to the gas inlet 202 to prevent gas leakage from the gas inlet 202. The gas outlet 204 includes a valve that controls the gas flow through the gas outlet 204. Hence, the gas outlet 204 can include a check valve or relief valve. Therefore, the air originally in the space surrounded by the enclosure 200 and the door 300 can be totally replaced by an inert gas to protect the substrates 500 from being further oxidized by any oxidizing gases when the substrate 500 is stored in the vertical rack 100 a.

The alignment facility 300 in the enclosure 200 is used to receive and slightly incline the substrates 500 at an angle of about 0-5 degrees to minimize the contact area of the substrates 500 to upper projections 301 and lower projections 303 of the alignment facility 300, thereby minimizing the potential of damaging the deposited layer, such as a TCO layer, on the substrate 500. The alignment facility 300 includes a top comb including multiple upper projections 301 to define multiple upper slots 302 therebetween and a bottom comb including multiple lower projections 303 to define multiple lower slots 304 therebetween. The upper slots 302 are laterally offset from the lower slots 304 to slightly incline the substrate 500 disposed in the upper slots 302 and the lower slots 304.

The upper projections 301 and the lower projections 303 may be fabricated from a material softer than the substrate 500 to minimize scratching on surfaces of the substrate 500. The material of the upper projections 301 and the lower projections 303 can be a plastic, such as polyoxymethylene (e.g. DELRIN of DuPont), polyurethane, polyimide-based polymer (e.g. VESPEL of DuPont), or polyether ether ketone (e.g. PEEK), for example.

FIG. 2 is a front-view diagram of an alignment facility in the vertical rack according to another embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 2, rollers 305 can be further disposed on two sides of each of the upper projection 301 in such a way that the rollers 305 can roll inwardly and outwardly. Similarly, rollers 305 can also be disposed on two sides of each of the lower projection 303 (not shown in FIG. 2) in such a way that the rollers can roll inwardly and outwardly. Therefore, comparing with the friction force between the substrates 500 and the upper/lower projections 301/303, the friction force between the substrate 500 and the rollers 305 can be further reduced to further reduce scratching on the substrate 500.

Moreover, in FIG. 1, the alignment facility 300 can further includes separators 305 disposed between the upper projections 301 and the lower projections 303 to assist maintaining the glass in the upper slots 302 and the lower slots 304. The separators can be wires, for example.

In FIG. 1, one side of the enclosure 200 having an orientation perpendicular to the upper slots 302 and the lower slots 304 has a sealable door 400 size to allow substrates 500 to pass therethrough. The door 400 is configured to be opened and closed by a person or by a robot. In one embodiment, the door 400 can be removed from the enclosure 200. When the door 400 is closed, the door 400 makes a substantially air-tight seal with the enclosure 200. Therefore, the enclosure 200 can protect the substrates 500 from being contaminated when the substrates 500 are stored in the enclosure 200 and the door 400 is closed, and the conventional pre-clean step can be omitted. The seal of the door 400 may be selected to leak at pressures above to prevent over-pressurizing the enclosure and/or to assist in charging the enclosure by acting as a vent when the enclosure is pressurized.

The inner surface of the door 400 may include a transportation restraint 402, such as an elastomeric member or an inflatable member, pressing against the substrates 500 in the enclosure 200 when the door 400 is closed. Therefore, the movement of the substrates 500 in the upper slots 302 and the lower slots 304 can be prevented.

FIG. 3 is a side-view diagram of a vertical rack according to another embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 3, the door 400 has a door seal 408 that allows leakage about predefined pressure to prevent over-pressurizing the enclosure 200 and allow gas to vent while charging.

FIG. 4 is a front-view diagram of a vertical rack according to yet another embodiment of this invention. The structure of the vertical rack 100 c in FIG. 4 is basically the same as the structural of the vertical rack 100 a in FIG. 1. In FIG. 4, the transportation restraint 402 is an inflatable member, such as a bladder. An inlet valve 404 and an outlet valve 406 for inflating or deflating the inflatable member can be accessed from the exterior of the door 400 without opening the door 400.

According to the forgoing embodiments, the vertical racks provided above can protect the substrates stored inside from being further oxidized or contaminated. Moreover, the vertical racks can transport the substrates between different production lines. Therefore, the vertical accumulator of the vertical racks can store work in progress and/or buffer the production line, and the substrates thus can be removed from or inserted into the production lines for any maintenance, testing, or qualification purposes.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow. 

1. An enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large substrates, the enclosed vertical rack comprising: a movable base; an enclosure on the base for accommodating at least one of the substrates, wherein the enclosure has a gas inlet; an alignment facility in the enclosure for receiving and slightly inclining the substrate; and a sealable door for enclosing the enclosure, wherein the door is sized to allow the substrate to pass therethrough.
 2. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, wherein the gas inlet comprises a shut-off valve or is integrated in a quick-disconnect.
 3. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, wherein the enclosure or the door has a gas outlet.
 4. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 3, wherein the gas outlet comprises a check valve or a relief valve.
 5. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, wherein the movable base has a moving facility.
 6. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 5, wherein the moving facility comprises forklift slots.
 7. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 5, wherein the moving facility comprises castors.
 8. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 5, wherein the moving facility comprises rail wheels or hoisting hooks.
 9. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, wherein the alignment facility comprises a top comb and a bottom comb respectively disposed on the top and the bottom of the enclosure, and wherein the top comb is laterally offset from the bottom comb.
 10. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 9, wherein the alignment facility comprises rollers disposed on two sides of the projections of the top comb and the bottom combs in such a way that the rollers can roll inwardly and outwardly.
 11. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, further comprising a transportation restraint on the inner surface of the sealable door.
 12. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 11, wherein the transportation restraint is an elastomeric member or an inflatable member.
 13. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 12, wherein the inflatable member has a gas inlet and a gas outlet that can be accessed outside the sealable door.
 14. An enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large substrates, the enclosed vertical rack comprising: a movable base having a moving facility comprising forklift slots, hoisting hooks, rail wheels or castors; an enclosure on the base for accommodating at least one of the substrates, wherein the enclosure has a gas inlet; a top comb disposed on the top of the enclosure; a bottom comb disposed on the bottom of the enclosure, wherein the top comb and bottom comb define a plurality of slots for receiving the substrate and the top comb is laterally offset from the bottom comb to slightly incline the substrate; and a sealable door for enclosing the enclosure, wherein the door is sized to allow the substrate to pass therethrough.
 15. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 14, wherein the gas inlet comprises a shut-off valve or is integrated in a quick-disconnect.
 16. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 14, wherein the enclosure or the door comprises a gas outlet.
 17. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 16, wherein the gas outlet comprises a check valve or a relief valve.
 18. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 14, further comprising a transportation restraint on the inner surface of the sealable door.
 19. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 14, wherein the transportation restraint is an elastomeric member or an inflatable member.
 20. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 19, wherein the inflatable member has a gas inlet and a gas outlet that can be accessed outside the sealable door. 